Pacific citizens: Though 50 years ago there was not much contact ...

Pacific Cooperation Foundation: Just as the Asia 2000 Foundation was ...

Tackling Pacific Island problems from within the Parliament: Strategic thinking about ...

The agenda: THEN: Social issues were important ...

Improving partnership: There is a need to revive the Pacific Islands ...

Tackling blindness among Pacific peoples: Tongan public health specialist ...

HIV AIDS - moral and medical solutions: Public health and other policy planners...

Tongan job solution: Managed employment is a Tongan New Zealander's private ...

The new tertiary landscape - what's in it for Pacific peoples?: Education is ...

Making good citizens: In our Pacific region, and elsewhere in the world ...

Involving Pacific peoples in local decisionmaking: The question all New Zealand ...

Tangata Pasifika? Michael Powles, who has worked ...

Endorsing good governance: Former New Zealand career diplomat Gordon Schroff ...

Need not be conflict: Issues in Pacific governance - where one size does not ...

Cooperation wins: Greater regional cooperation on common issues might ...

APEC and PECC: Though New Zealand seeks to be a good international ...

Advocacy on market access: The Pacific Islands Trade and Investment ...

Being Pa'alagi: The Being Pa'alagi programme, in which I looked back ...

Collaboration key to achieving vision: The vision of the Ministry of ...

Talk to all pacific cultures with one voice:
Ethnic Communications

Improving partnership

By Anthony Haas

There is a need to revive the Pacific Islands Advisory Council, a need to develop some structure in relation to our future, says chair of the Tongan Advisory Council, Auckland branch, Melino Maka.

A Tongan New Zealander, Maka’s working life has been involved in looking for ways to improve the social and economic structure of his people.

“ At times it seems like a struggle. We need, as Pacific peoples, to look for solutions.”

He says there is now fragmentation in the Pacific Islands community structure. There is a lack of leadership, which Maka has discussed with Samoan, Fijian and other community leaders.

He says educated Pacific peoples’ leadership in New Zealand needs to focus on bringing together the leadership of churches, businesses and community – rather than the current fragmented approach.

He says Pacific peoples’ secular challenges are very difficult.

“ What I am looking for in leadership is to foster transparency and accountability. This is absent in our community.”

In Auckland, Maka is trying to provide transparency and accountability through the Tongan Council. When he began “no one knew what was going on”.

Published 3rd qtr, 2003

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